it doesn't seem to matter how good Windows Phone 7 is. Microsoft's smartphone market share continues to plummet.

Four decades ago, Intel created the first true microprocessor. We're all still trying to catch up.

Apple has shrewdly avoided the boneheaded arrogance it displayed during the iPhone 4 antenna fiasco, and admitted forthrightly that the new iPhone 4S has distressingly brief battery life. The company says it's a software issue that it will soon repair.

A new study finds that cell phones don't cause brain tumors. Well, all right then.

Fragile or not, the iPhone 4S is selling like wildfire. Wasn't this phone supposed to be a major letdown? Seems only the "experts" felt that way. Other people were too busy getting in line to buy one...

A gadget insurance company stress=tested the new iPhone 4S, with tragic results.

Amazon.com is selling all Verizon phones for a penny, with a two-year service contract. All of them, except the iPhone 4, which is unlisted. But a penny for the latest Android and BlackBerry phones isn't bad at all.

...if you're in California. The governor there just vetoed a bill that would have required cops to get a warrant before viewing the data stored in a suspect's phone. So now, a cop can just take your phone and start skimming through whatever he finds there.

The company's WiMAX-based 4G service can't hold a candle to Verizon's LTE technology, and so Sprint is racing to deploy an LTE network of its own.

The CEO of Verizon thinks AT&T should go right ahead and gobble up T-Mobile. Wonder why...

Well, duh. The company refuses to test Android apps for viruses and other nasties, with the result that the bad guys are racing to write attack programs targeting Android phones and tablets. I got my Android phone for free, but unless Google gets a handle on this, I may regret it.

MetroPCS might not exactly be least among cellular carriers but it's way behind Verizon Wireless. Yet MetroPCS just might be first to market in the US with a voice-over-LTE service. Today Verizon and MetroPCS offer LTE 4G service but only for data. Voice traffic moves over standard CDMA equipment. But move the voice to 4G as well, and you could see a dramatic improvement in audio quality.

So who'll get there first--little MetroPCS or giant VZW? Stay tuned...

Motorola's Android tablet took a lot of well-deserved flak for its high price. Apparently, Motorola has listened...

The new Thunderbolt phone from Verizon Wireless is hampered by short battery life. But it's quite a good phone, for a few hours, anyway.

How about a lower priced Wi-Fi-only version? That might goose the anemic sales of Motorola's Android tablet...

With a faster processor but a lousy camera, I'd call it a wash.

Engineers tear apart the new Motorola Xoom, and find a few surprises.

Motorola's tablet computer is here, and while it won't be an iPad-killer, it definitely kills.

A million sold, so far. I guess many consumers don't share my reservations about the Galaxy Tab--mainly that it's too expensive. Still, it is a nice device despite the price and other limitations.

Superfast data service from Verizon Wireless is on the way. The company will announced its plans at a press conference tomorrow. Since the company tested its 4G service in Boston, it's a virtual certainty that we'll be among the 38 cities that'll get the service first.

One analyst says that sales of the Galaxy Tab are falling short of expectations, but so are those of Apple's iPad. Hmmm...

Samsung's Galaxy Tab is a capable rival to Apple's iPad. But its high price and lack of good apps ensure that it won't cost Steve Jobs any lost sleep.

Location-based services like Foursquare really aren't too popular, according to this report. Sure, all the cool kids like to talk about "checking in" and becoming the "mayor" of this nightclub or that coffee shop. But most folks don't see the point. I used Foursquare myself for several months but have lately wiped it from my BlackBerry without regret. Does me no good that I can see, so why bother? Besides, why should I report my movements to Foursquare? Go hire a private eye if you're that interested, but you'll get no help from me.

AT&T stores are about to start selling Apple's iPad. No surprise, really. But what about the news from Verizon Wireless? It's becoming an iPad retailer as well. Gives ever more plausibility to the rumors that Verizon will soon offer the iPhone.

By Hiawatha Bray, Globe Staff

I've been sending and receiving a lot of cellphone text messages lately, mainly to myself. Call it research.

The new Massachusetts ban on texting while driving may save lives, although I have my doubts. But it certainly provides an economic stimulus for makers of cellphone software and accessories that are designed to keep our eyes on the road and hands on the wheel.

Some software apps block the use of your phone while driving. Others let you keep right on texting, by reading the messages out loud and even letting you reply by talking rather than clicking.

That's what Verizon Wireless has in mind. The company long used its V Cast store for selling software for its various cellphones. Now that Verizon is turning into Android Central, customers are getting their apps through Google's Android Market. Verizon apparently wants a piece of that action. And why not? One of the advantages of Android v. iPhone is Android's more open software universe. Unlike Apple, which has a stranglehold on apps through its online store, Android lets everybody play. So why not Verizon Wireless?

Verizon Wireless is doing just fine without Apple's popular iPhone, thanks to red-hot sales of Android smartphones.

...Verizon admits that some of the hot-selling phones suffer from screen problems. First the iPhone 4, now this. At least Verizon and manufacturer Motorola have quickly admitted the problem.

Maybe not Verizon Wireless. Despite persistent rumors that Verizon will start selling the iPhone in a few months, this NY Times story makes a good case that Verizon's strong sales of Google Android phones make the iPhone a lot less important to Verizon that you might think.

As good as the iPhone 4? Well, maybe not. But awfully good nonetheless.

That just might be the day when Verizon turns up its new 4G network. In Boston? One can only hope...

So says Bloomberg. Massive bad news for AT&T, if true, and a major boost to Verizon and Apple. Millions who've held off buying the iPhone because of AT&T's reputation will now sign on.

On the other hand, couldn't this cause a short-term hit to iPhone sales? Some people will put off signing contracts with AT&T, and wait for Verizon Wireless to start offering the phone next year. Hmmm...

For the time being, Verizon Wireless is not jumping on the AT&T bandwagon, and will keep offering unlimited cellular data plans. So buyers of the upcoming Droid X superphone will be able to do all the data-shifting their hearts desire and their batteries can stand.

Motorola and Verizon fire back with an impressive-looking new version of their Android phone, the Droid X,

Looks like Verizon Wireless will abandon unlimited data plans when it switches to 4G technology, just as AT&T is already doing on its 3G network. You'll pay by the megabyte. This could be good news for those who don't use all that much data, but lousy for people who can't get enough.

Ever since the first iPhone, the relationship between AT&T and Apple has seen plenty of turmoil. Will Apple eventually throw in the towel and start seeing others? Count on it. But don't ask me when.

...from the Boy Genius Report.

Verizon starts rolling out its 4G service late this year, and a top exec says the company may not go with unlimited usage for a flat monthly fee. Instead, Verizon might sell monthly plans with fixed data limits--small, medium and large, perhaps, with prices to match.

Good idea or bad? That'll depend on the prices and data limits Verizon offers. We shall see.

This same item also notes that Verizon plans to offer voice-over-IP service on its 4G phones. That'd mean no more separate voice and data plans, because the phone would treat everything as data. No more separate bill for cell phone minutes, then. Nice idea, but only if Verizon sets a nice cheap price for 4G access.

According to this Reuters story, next generation cellphones and 4G Internet service may become widely available faster than you might have expected. Consumers have fallen in love with high-speed wireless, and carriers are eager to cash in.

That new network promises much higher speeds for transferring video, for example. Verizon says it will be running in 25 to 30 cities by the end of the year.

The new network will likely bring a shift from current unlimited-use pricing plans.

"The old model of one price plan per device is going to fall away," Mr. McAdam said, adding that he expects carriers to take an approach that targets a "bucket of megabytes."

With multiple devices, customers are likely to end up paying more for connecting their gadgets to the next-generation network than they do today, he said. "It's not out of the question," he said.